West Yorkshire has been hit hard in recent years with worsening and intensifying wildfires. In return, the West Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service are adopting advanced tactics and innovations to increase their firefighting efficiencies. The service has recently started using all-terrain vehicles to reach and fight these blazes. Peatlands including Marsden Moor and Ilkley Moor have been especially hard hit.
In addition to the use of advanced vehicles, the fire service employs sophisticated mapping tools and weather forecasting applications to better predict fire behavior. That kind of proactive approach is key to wildfire prevention and management. It curtails their harmful predatory practices and protects vulnerable communities disproportionately targeted by them.
The West Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service are currently doing a lot to protect their firefighters. They’ve introduced new innovations in lightweight personal protective equipment, uniquely tailored for longer-term engagements. In the future, this equipment would help protect fire crews’ safety and maximize the operational effectiveness of crews on long burning missions.
The West Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service has no experience using this kind of technological innovation as robotic dogs. They are keen to work alongside a future team from the University of Bradford. During a recent conference in Birmingham, the creative team lit up while talking about their groundbreaking work still in progress. Dr. Kamran Mahroof described the expected advantages of this creative new model.
Dr. Mahroof highlighted that “the whole idea for us is to identify wildfires as soon as possible.” He, along with colleagues Dr. Konstantinos Katsaros and Dr. Lazaros Karagiannidis from the Greek-based Institute of Communication and Computer Systems (ICCS), will lead a pilot project next year as part of the EU-funded 6G-VERSUS initiative. For this project, we are designing an integrated robotic dog and aerial drone ecosystem. Our ultimate aim is to improve the situational awareness of first responders during wildfires.
The 6G-VERSUS research project was granted funding earlier this year by the European Union’s Horizon Innovation Action programme. Now, Formula E teams will be able to fly to Greece to hold Trials. Artificial intelligence (AI) will play a key role in this new system, allowing for real-time analysis of camera feeds. This will allow faster targeting of at-risk individuals and help to direct resources where they’re most needed.
“By applying AI to interpret real-time camera feeds and using 6G links to relay the data, we can help teams quickly identify people at risk and deploy resources where they’re needed most, all while keeping responders safe.” – Team
As wildfires continue to be a global phenomenon, Dr. Mahroof stressed the importance of innovation in combating this pressing challenge: “Wildfires are a global phenomenon and have been increasing in frequency and intensity in recent years. We are immensely proud to be at the forefront of research addressing this pressing global challenge.”